Yawkey Way getting name change by Red Sox due to racist past

Yawkey Way getting name change by Red Sox due to racist past

A bit of the Boston Red Sox’s history is being replaced, and that’s a good thing.

Yawkey Way, located outside Fenway Park, will be getting a name change, given that former team owner Tom Yawkey refused to hire black Red Sox ballplayers.

The move was approved by Boston’s Public Improvement Commission, which voted on the proposal by current Red Sox ownership. Yawkey Way will now be called Jersey Street.

The Yawkey Foundations, a charity organization that speaks for Tom and his wife, Jean, were not happy about the move, as you might imagine.

“As we have said throughout this process, the effort to expunge Tom Yawkey’s name has been based on a false narrative about his life and his historic 43-year ownership of the Red Sox,” the organization said, in a statement to the Associated Press.

“The drastic step of renaming the street, now officially sanctioned by the city of Boston (and contradicting the honor the city bestowed upon Tom Yawkey over 40 years ago), will unfortunately give lasting credence to that narrative and unfairly tarnish his name.”

It’s not a narrative, it’s the truth. We applaud the Red Sox for making the change, especially in this day and age we live in.